The Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, has said six concessionaires have been shortlisted for the construction of the proposed Fourth Mainland Bridge.
Hamzat, in a statement, added that the bridge would cost over $2bn and link the Ajah area of the state with Ikorodu.
To make the bridge a viable public-private partnership project, the deputy governor explained that the state government was building other roads to support it.
He said:
If we build the Fourth Mainland Bridge that takes traffic from the Lekki-Epe road and also brings traffic from Ikorodu back to it, there will be gridlock at both ends if we are not careful. As such, we need to build other parallel roads that will take off vehicles to other places.
For example, we are expanding the Lekki-Epe Expressway from the Eleko junction to Epe. Currently, it is a one-lane road though and two lanes in some areas. But we are turning it into a six-lane highway with about three or four bridges.
It will take traffic from the Lekki-Epe-Expressway and make the Fourth Mainland Bridge very viable. We are rounding the concession process for the bridge. We have six concessionaires shortlisted for the project. They are all international companies from Portugal, Turkey, including Julius Berger Plc.
In the meantime, the 4th Mainland Bridge is a proposed 38-kilometer long bridge initiative by the Lagos State Government, connecting Lagos Island by way of Lekki, Langbasa, and Baiyeku towns and across Lagos Lagoon to Itamaga in Ikorodu part. On completion of the project is expected to become the longest bridge in Africa.
The construction of the bridge, which would commence in December, 2021, is estimated to gulp $2.5 billion after it was reviewed upward from $2.2 billion.
